joint supplements & the senior horse

[2miniB]

My 30+ year old Welsh/Arab pony has been on MSM for a while and was doing well on it. We had a couple cold/damp snaps, and she got very stiff and sore. The weather warmed up, and she’s back to her usual self. She’s super sensitive and can’t tolerate bute or previcox. She has a history of laminitis & EMS but has been stable. I talked to my vet about starting her on a glucosamine joint supplement, and she thought that would be fine. She hasn’t had any issues with metabolic horses & glucosamine, and she sees a lot of old, metabolic horses.

I’m considering Cosequin, Cosequin Optimized or one of 5 options Platinum Performance makes. Any experiences with any of these products?

I know metabolic horses are very individual, but I’d like to know if anyone has one on a glucosamine joint supplement and how that has been.

I’ve been through a lot with this horse, and I like to be very thorough in my research before I make any changes.

[TWH_Girl]

Not sure where you are located…no supplement will help as much as bute or Equioxx so that is too bad she cannot tolerate those meds. I guess I would try the Smartflex Senior on her and also get her on Pentosan, or Adequan.

[2miniB]

@TWH Girl

Not sure where you are located…no supplement will help as much as bute or Equioxx so that is too bad she cannot tolerate those meds. I guess I would try the Smartflex Senior on her and also get her on Pentosan, or Adequan.

Unfortunately, she can’t have any amount of alfalfa (allergic), and SmartFlex Senior has an alfalfa base. Joint injections are completely off the table. I don’t have easy access to a vet, and its quite expensive to get one here. This mare is hard enough to tranq for having her teeth done. I have severe neuropathy in my dominant hand, due to an old injury and don’t have enough control to give injections. I don’t know if Pentosan or Adequan use any of the same adjuvants as vaccines, but this mare also has a history of severe vaccine reactions (laminitis, injection site reaction, off feed).

The only realistic option for her is a joint supplement. I selected Cosequin, because I’ve heard good things about it and that its been researched. I’ve liked other Platinum Performance products, and I’m waiting to hear if they’ve done any research on their products

[moving_to_dc]

Cosequin IS a good product, and is backed up by research. You probably already know how few supplements are actually tested and proven with research. When I have used Cosequin, I have not had any issues with palatability.

Our barn vet left a sample pack of Platinum Performance a few years ago. I contained 3 packets of each of the “flavors” that Platinum Performance uses. I was surprised (and disappointed) in the quantity of the supplement - it a very large amount in each dose compared to every other supplement I have tried over the last 30+ years… The sample pack was for a particular horse in the barn, but when she refused to eat her 5lbs of feed with 1oz of Platinum Performance in it, I decided to do a “taste test” with the other horses in the barn. Of the 14 horses I tried - NONE OF THEM would eat it. Even the ones who eat ANYTHING turned their noses up.

So my suggestion with Platinum Performance is to give the sample pack a try before you commit $xxx to purchasing their product.

[TWH_Girl]

They make Smartflex Senior in a powder as well.

Pentosan and Adequan are not joint injections; they’re intramuscular joint medications.

Recovery Eq is a good supplement also. Cosequin is good but you may want to double dose it for a while.

[sabinomare]

I’ll always recommend Cosequin. Price point is relatively fair, and there is research to back it up.

[RedHorses]

When I asked my vet about joint supplements too many years ago he said “Pick one. Double dose for two weeks and if you don’t see a difference pick a different one.” Nothing works exactly the same on every horse.

I picked one and had noticeable results (the farrier commented) that vanished a little while after the production manufacturing changed (altered scent and colour). Tried a couple of things. Then found one that showed results after four days. I honestly thought it had to be my imagination, but the horse just got better every day.

My current older horse started on a glucosamine supplement a few years ago. I didn’t notice a difference in his way of going but did in the length of time it took between mounting and him feeling ready to trot. That time went from 10-12 minutes down to 5-6 minutes. This horse has EPSM and PPID (Cushings) and he has no trouble with MSM and glucosamine.

Adequan can be injected directly into the joint, though the IM version is far more commonly used.

[Obsidian_Fire]

Buying straight HA (hyaluronic acid) is fairly inexpensive these days and works well.

[JB]

I would also suggest looking at Pentosan as a less $$ alternative introduction to IM injectibles. It’s going to do a lot more than MSM, without the issues from an NSAID.

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

I had a horse develop ringbone in his teens, he was also a Cushing horse. After a year of equioxx he developed ulcers and lost huge amounts of weight. We switched to msm which stopped helping after a year. We added Uckele Devils Claw supplement, and noticed improvement after about two weeks. He started running again on occasion and jogged up for his feeding everyday until he passed away at 31. I’m not sure if your pony will tolerate natural anti inflammatory any better than bute but all of mine do and I don’t think there is any alfalfa in the Uckele supplement.

[pony_baloney]

My 32 yr. old Arab can’t tolerate bute but is fine with Equioxx.

[Marla_100]

Consider Lubrisyn HA. I have a horse w/ similar conditions and Lubrisyn does help a lot and works quickly for the pain in joints. I’ve also used it on my dog and took it myself for a while for an old broken back. I can tell you, after about 20 min. the pain was gone for the day.